The Arizona sentinel., 1887-04-16
THE WATERS OF THE COLORADO AND CHA TO BE JOINTLY
 UTILIZED.
A Canal 50 Miles Long, and Cost ing one Million. Dollars, to be
 Constructed.

Alter sleep or ages, the aIluvlal
 lands of Yuma county are to be awak-
 ened by the rejuvenating caresses. of
 the waters-o of the Gila and the Colo
 rado. A canal system, exceeding any
 irrigation system on the Pacific coast,
 in gigantic proportions, in extent, in
 cost, and in area of rich soil it will re- . claim, is now inprocess of formulation,
 and from the indomitable energy and
 perseverance of its originator, and the
 eagerness which capital manifests to
 take hold of the matter, we prophecy
 an early completion of the plans of
 organization and operation and the
 ultimate success of the undertaking.
 Col. G. w. Norton, whose skill
 as a ciEil engineer was put to the test
 in locating the line of the Central Pa
 cifc railway through the Sierras, and
 whose triumph over the barriers that
 interposed in the construction of that
 road demonstrated his ability as an
 engineer, is the originator of this new
 and gigantic enterprise. He it was,
 too, who drove the first peg in the
 great Mohawk valley, on the Gila, and
 whose perseverance and faith in the
 future of that valley caused him to stay with it, until now, It has passed
 the embryonic, uncertain period and
 emerged into a full-grown, active,
 vigorous realty, and will henceforth,
 add immeasurably to the wealth and. prosperity of this county. The idea
 of an immense canal to convey the waters of the Colorado to the vast area of land adjacent to Yuma, is not new to Col Norton. He has long had In contemplation this scheme, and having associated with himself, Mir. John w. Darlington, president of the Mohawk Canal Co.,, has matured his plans and submitted them to a syndi- cate of capitalists, who have unquali- fiedly endorsed their practicability with the assurance of ample financial encouragement. Col. Norton is now at work preparing map, which will be completed in about two weeks when a preliminary survey will be made.
 The point at which the canal will be taken from the Colorado is about twenty-eight miles above Yuma, and and about two miles below the old Castle Dome Landing, at what is known as Stevenson's Island. At this point there is solid rock wall on each side of the river, and the island of solid rock in the center of the river, which is here $50 feet wide, acts as a | dam, raising the water several feet and causing rapids on each side. From here the line of the canal will run to point on the Gila just below Gila City. It will irrigate l4,OOO acres that lie between the two rivers. A six foot iron pipe will be laid under the bed of the Gia and for distance of two miles, and the fall given to this pipe will be sufficient to enable it to carry water to the full capacity of the canal which is. to be 40 feet wide on the bottom. A connection will be here made with the Gila, so that. du- ring the annual rise of that river, its waters will be utilized. 4 beautiful provision of nature in regard to the Gila and Colorado, is that when the annual rise of the Gila occurs, during the spring months, the Colorado is at its lowest, and when the Gila subsidies. then begins the summer rise of the Colorado, which, fed by the melting snows of the Rockies, continues throughout the summer irrigating sea son. This attenuation in the rising of the two rivers will be utilized in the of the Gila with the main canal before referred to. Passing thence along the margin of the higher mesa and subjecting fully l2,O00 acres between Yuma and Gila city to irri- yation, the canal will be extended 9 niles below Yuma to the Mexican line, covering fully l56,O0O acres of as rich md productive land as there is on the continent. Should the company which will be organized under the . lame of the Colorado and GiIa Canal , Company, find it advisable, concessions I